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verb

debilitate

to make someone weak and infirm

In a sentence

Six example sentences with debilitate, each labelled with its topic.

  • Untreated anemia can debilitate a patient so thoroughly that climbing one flight of stairs takes several minutes and long rest.

    Medicine

  • Three weeks in a cast debilitated her calf to the point where she could not hold a single-leg balance.

    Fitness

  • A stomach virus debilitated half the roster, and the coach played walk-ons for nineteen minutes of a conference game.

    Basketball

  • Scurvy debilitated whole crews on long voyages until surgeons insisted on lemons in the daily ration.

    History

  • The dry summer debilitated the deer herd, and rangers found animals too weak to climb out of the valley.

    Environment

  • Weeks of poor sleep can debilitate a person as thoroughly as illness, dulling reactions and draining strength.

    Psychology

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Found in these word lists

Found in 3 published word listsRecognized

Each source is a published word list that contains debilitate. No exam board publishes an official GRE, GMAT or SAT list; GMAT words come from GRE lists and the Academic Word List.

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